Retail Stalking

Today I went to the Ibex Clothing tent sale. Ibex is a local company that makes outdoor wool clothing. Every Columbus Day weekend, they gather up all their overstocks, imperfects and samples and offer everything at huge discounts of 50% off or better. Tent sale is a polite way of saying a retail feeding frenzy. Think Filene's Basement wedding dress sale but trade the young brides-to-be for middle-aged, middle-class people that like classic comfortable clothing.

The sale started at 7am. I arrived at 8:30, and they were already scrambling to locate more space for parking in the field. Shoppers either brought large bags or grabbed empty cardboard boxes and picked up anything and everything they might consider buying. Once all potential purchases were obtained, everyone retreated to the relative quiet outside the tent to sort and make final decisions, or crowd into the communal dressing tent (one for men and one for women). The best place for shopping was the table outside the dressing tent where all the cast-offs were put.

About half-way through my second sweep through the tent, I saw a spring green, half zip pullover that had a pretty pattern and texture to it. Most of their clothing is solid color and texture-free, so I got pretty excited about it, but it was a small and it was the only one I could find. While I was in the dressing room, I was next to a couple of women who were friends and one of them was trying on the top I loved, but she had a medium. Her friend was telling her how good it looked on her, but she was sounding lukewarm at best and complaining about the neck. She did hold on to it though.

I happened to be leaving the dressing tent at the same time they were, so I decided to follow her a bit as they continued shopping the tent. I was hoping she found something she liked better. She tried on a jacket and a vest, and I lost her in the crowd briefly. My frantic searching made realize that I was now mildly obsessed. I found her outside the tent with a big bag of items she'd selected. I stayed just inside the tent pretending to look at a rack of jackets. Nothing happened at first; the friends stood there and talked. Finally she started looking through her bag. She got to the green shirt and held it up to herself, refolded it and put it back on the pile. She stood a few more minutes doing nothing. What was she waiting for?! After what seemed like an eternity, she went back to sorting, but was maddeningly slow about it. She rejected a couple of things by folding and stacking them a couple of feet from her bag. Another woman (I don't know know if they knew each other) came up and asked her if she was discarding them. She said she was, and the woman looked at them. Now I knew if it was rejected, I'd have to act fast.

About 30 minutes had passed since I first started following her and she picked up the green top for the third time, held it up, looked at it, folded it, and PUT IT IN THE DISCARD PILE. I didn't waste any time; I walked over and asked if she was not keeping those items. "Go for it," she said. I grabbed the shirt and practically ran away with it, I was so excited. I'd show you a photo of my prize, but I'm to tired to get the camera, pose and upload the photo. Stalking takes a lot of energy. If you're in the area this weekend, the sale continues Saturday and Sunday on the green in Quechee, Vermont.

The moral to this story: If you really want something, it's probably worth waiting for (at least 30 minutes).

Thrift Therapy

I'm just home from a morning of thrifting, and I feel absolutely giddy. So much for the slump... I've had thift tonic, and I'm better now.

I'm not sure if I mentioned that there are five thrift stores within a half hour of my house. I haven't explored further afield, but who needs more than five anyway? It took me most of the morning to shop two of them.

First I un-thrifted. I had the back of the car loaded with stuff to drop off at the thrift store. I love getting rid of stuff too. We have too much stuff (doesn't everybody?), so when I can move out some things that clearly aren't being used or loved anymore, it makes me happy.

There were some good deals: pink tags were half price, as well as short sleeve shirts, capris and shorts. So here's the booty I plundered today...

... some pretty clothes for Pipsqueak. The dark blue top is velour with a faux fur collar and cuffs and it's American Girl. The olive green top is a little more "hip" than "little girl", but she's starting to show interest in those styles. At 83 cents, I thought I could indulge.

These are all GAP. I love GAP clothes, but I don't like to pay GAP prices. The sweater is so soft and was only $1.60.

I just had to get rid of my favorite sun dress. It had elastic smocking in the back which was giving out, so it sagged and the shoulders wouldn't stay up. Finding this pretty sundress cushioned the blow. I love all the shades of green. Green is my new black. The shirt is from Talbots for $1.80, and the capris are from Banana Republic for $2.40. I wasn't sure about the brick red color, but it's time I got out of my khaki and denim bottomed rut.

Then we move on to the housewares and accessories departments...

the little black embroidered case is so pretty. I'm going to save it until Christmas for Pipsqueak and put a couple of handmade necklaces in it. I can also wear the purple scarf as a bohemian belt since I have such a tiny waist >cough, cough<. The truth is the scarf is really long. I've been collecting some narrow necked bottles to make beaded reed diffusers as Christmas presents. I'm not sure if the blue round box will be for me or Pipsqueak, but it was too pretty to pass up at 75 cents. The clothespins are for making Clothespin Cuties (more on that another time). The napkin fabric reminded me of Waverly, but there were no tags. A couple of weeks ago, Sweetie broke our only spreader and cut his finger so deeply I thought he might need stitches (he didn't). I thought I would increase our deadly kitchen gadgets four-fold.

In case you thought I didn't get anything for Sweetie, I did. These two candle lanterns are for the solarium he's building. (I'll post an entry about that soon.) I hope he likes them. He has definite opinions about decorating and fashion. He's not one of those guys that shrugs his shoulders and says, "If you like it, it's fine." Most of the time, I'm glad for his opinions. If he doesn't like them. I'm sure I can re-sell them.

I was tempted by other things like silver plated wine goblets at $1.12 each (I've already got enough silver to polish.), one of those retro bead dangly things for doorways (Pipsqueak is still a little young for it, and a few other bits and bobs. I do practise a little restraint.

Monster Sale!

Oooo! Just the sound of it gets my blood pumping! That was a subject line in my inbox this morning from the Children's Place. Unless it's food or fuel, I hate to spend full price for anything. Next to "sale", my favorite word is "clearance".

The Children's Place is marking down all there summer stuff, and I love buying pretty things for my 6 year old Pipsqueak. I realize prices will drop further in another month, but by then sizes and styles will be limited. Now is when there is good selection at mouth watering prices. I ordered:

• 3 t-shirts
• 1 halter top
• 1 skirt
• 2 pairs of pedal pushers
• 2 skorts
• 1 nightgown
• 6 pairs of socks
• 1 baseball cap
• 2 pairs of sunglasses
• 1 headband

all for under $100, including the shipping. Regular shipping is only $5. That's 20 items, averaging less than $2 each.

You might be thinking, "But summer is almost over. Pipsqueak won't get to wear the stuff for long." Ah-ha! I almost always buy her clothes a year ahead and pack them away by size. Her age and size have always coincided. It won't work for everyone, but it will for some and you can save a lot of money buying at end-of-season markdown prices. Now stop reading blogs and go to the The Children's Place before all the good stuff is gone.

Pipsqueak doing her Paris Hilton imitation. It's obvious she likes clothes and pink.